5 Food and Drink Trends for Father’s Day

Mark your calendars Father’s Day is on June 15th. If you’re still trying to figure out what to get to mark the occasion, don’t worry. Dad’s are notoriously hard to shop for, but one gift that is sure to hit out of the park is the gift of food. So this year get in touch with your inner epicurean and surprise Dad with something yummy.

5 Food and Drink Trends for Father’s Day

Photo credit: chefs.com

Smoking: Grilling, it looks like you have been smoked. One of the hottest food trends of the year is smoking. It’s actually been around for a long time, but this year it’s a food trend bursting with an abundance of flavours. Smoking is a cooking technique for flavouring, cooking or preserving food by exposing it to smoke, usually from wood. It’s perfect for things like pork butt, ribs, beef brisket, and chicken leg quarters. Learn the principles from Jaime Purviance, the author of Weber’s Smoke: A Guide to Smoke Cooking for Anyone.

BBQ: True, smoking may be experiencing its 15 minutes of fame, but this doesn’t mean the classic BBQ is suddenly unfashionable. Au contraire. In fact, BBQs are as popular as ever. Only now, the trend is to be more discerning about the quality of meats you cook with and the types of tools you use. Grass fed beef, for example, is richer in vitamins and has three times the amount of Omega 3 than feedlot beef. So this year, impress Dad with good quality meats and excellent quality BBQ tools like one made by All-Clad. Why does this matter? Nice cookware and good quality ingredients cook, well, nicely.

Tea: Wine sommeliers cannot have all the attention. Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world and can be appreciated and examined as much as fine wine. In fact, when you taste a tea, four out of your five senses will be used: sight, smell, taste and touch. Tea isn’t just for an afternoon of blueberry scones (although, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that) there are a variety notes that naturally occur in teas, making them perfect for pairing with meals to enhance the flavour of your dish. Here’s a recipe from Rebecca Coleman’s Cooking By Laptop that will quench Dad’s thirst.

1) Muddle the berries in the bottom of a wide-mouth mason jar.
2) Fill the mason jar up with ice cubes. Pour the bourbon over the ice and add the bitters. Mix well, and top with the Pure Leaf Lemon Iced Tea. Stir well and garnish with a mint spring.
3) Enjoy!

DIY Soda: DIY soda kits are popping up everywhere. For generations industrious people have been brewing their own soda pop from roots of plants, which gave birth to drinks like root beer and ginger ale. Flash-forward to 2014 carbonation systems like SodaStream are popping up in homes across Toronto. Now you can transform government juice (a.k.a tap water) into healthier sparkling drinks and sparkling water all for a fraction of the price you would pay if you bought it at the supermarket. Here’s a recipe to try from Toronto-based world class Chef Susur Lee.

1. Combine ginger, cinnamon sticks, ground coffee, cardamom pods, bay leaves, 2 ½ litres of water & salt in a large pot and reduce on high heat to 1 cup
2. Remove from stove and let brine cool to room temperature.
3. Fill SodaStream bottle to the line; snap lock into machine and select highest fizz level; once complete, release and slowly add 40 ml (4 caps full) of SodaStream orange syrup (pour on angle); seal cap and gently roll the bottle on its side until well mixed. Repeat steps one more time to have enough for the recipe.
4. Add 1 ½ L of double sweetened orange sparkling drink to brine as well as Susur’s ice syrup.
5. Cut 1 whole 3-pound chicken in half and brine in mixture for 48 hours in the fridge.
6. Remove chicken from brine, season with salt and pepper.
7. Roast in 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
8. Serve with your favourite side dishes or Chef Lee’s suggested sides: Roasted J-choke with balsamic soya honey glaze & sweet onions

Amuse Bouche: Amuse Bouche rolls nicely off the tongue, doesn’t it? It’s also one of the biggest food trends of 2014 that will help up your entertaining game this Father’s Day. Translated into English from French it means “mouth amuser” and both taste and presentation are key to making this a mouth watering success. Head over to Hudson Kitchen and sample the variety of the amuse bouches from their summer menu this Father’s Day.

Sandra Williams-Hervé is a theatre kid with wanderlust turned multi-media writer, editor and entrepreneur. She has an eye for good style and a palate for delectable bites, and is always happy to dish the dirt on where and how to get a great deal. Above all, she’s a new mom to beautiful girl who is constantly on the move. Follow her @hervesandra.